City crews work to keep streets pothole free by asking residents to report them

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City crews work to keep streets pothole free by asking residents to report them

OKLAHOMA CITY – Street crews still weary from driving salt trucks and snow plows for much of the winter season have a new foe: potholes.

Citizens are asked to help crews out by reporting potholes to the City’s pothole hotline, 631-1111. Crews will need an accurate address, or closest intersection, to respond efficiently.

“This season’s winter weather has been brutal on City streets,” said Streets Supervisor Randy Moulder. “Anytime our salt trucks and snow plows hit the roads we know the next battle will be potholes – it’s the nature of the beast.”

Potholes are formed when water seeps into cracks in the asphalt then down into the roadbed.

The repeated freezing and thawing of water then expands to create larger gaps and cracks in the asphalt. As traffic drives over the weakened asphalt, the road surface comes apart.

Street crews fill thousands of potholes each year. It costs the City approximately $15 to patch each pothole.